THE Government might not have ''met its commitments'' towards the

Channel Tunnel, the project's former co-chairman claimed last night.

Hesitations about the building of the London-to-Folkestone high-speed

rail link were ''to be deplored'', said Mr Andre Benard.

Speaking at a transport lecture in London, Mr Benard said that

although there was no commitment from the British Government to build

the fast link -- ''there was a clear commitment that railways would

provide the required capacity''.

Mr Benard added that there appeared ''for all to see a large

discrepancy between the ways in which the British and French governments

saw and understood the project''.

He went on: ''With hindsight it seems that a much better understanding

between the two governments of their respective goals and a

rapprochement between their respective philosophies would have been

highly desirable for the project to maximise its benefits.''

Private sector consortia are now bidding to build and run the #3

billion high-speed link but parliamentary processes and a five-year

building programme mean it is unlikely to be running before the year

2002.

The French already had their high-speed link in place and the Belgian

one will be running by 1997.